ati radeon 9800...urgent help please

[ankit_y]

hey all...just upgraded my pc and put in a new powercolor radeon 9800 256mb card with the following specs on the machine...

ecs pm800ensp1 mobo
1.2 gig ram (but two chips of diff speeds)
p4 2.4ghz cpu
seagate 160 gig hard drive
sony dual layer dvd-rw drive
winxp sp2
creative sound blaster live card

now for the last few days i've been at my wit's end to get any game to work...have already done about "4" formats n reinstalls of windows xp sp2...the problem i face is that after fresh installation,windows works fine but as soon as i install any game the system goes to hell...slows down to a crawl and even after uninstalling the game the system stays slow.Only a format and fresh install of windows helps.
Have already tried updating ati drivers twice but doesn't work...any help would be appreciated...and yes i have only a 300w psu...could that be the problem or is it a hardware conflict.

[Sledgehammer70]

Is it with just one game or all games?

[Bad_Karma]

Do you have the latest cat6.7's and direct x 9.0c installed as well?

[Hawk]

Many are having the very same problems after installing SP2.
It's corrupting everything.
I installed it on one of my 6 pc's to test it and now it's getting random restarts/BSOD's/some things run ok/ some things don't, etc.
Even using system restore doesn't help.
I've read on many forums of others having the same thing happen/ BSOD's/restarts/real slow boot/no icons show for 4-5 mins until it gets through trying to boot and finally does/programs not running right or at all.
The only thing that fixes the problem is reformat and only install SP1.
SP2 has issues.

[Bad_Karma]

Many are having the very same problems after installing SP2.
It's corrupting everything.
I installed it on one of my 6 pc's to test it and now it's getting random restarts/BSOD's/some things run ok/ some things don't, etc.
Even using system restore doesn't help.
I've read on many forums of others having the same thing happen/ BSOD's/restarts/real slow boot/no icons show for 4-5 mins until it gets through trying to boot and finally does/programs not running right or at all.
The only thing that fixes the problem is reformat and only install SP1.
SP2 has issues.

That's interesting. I have the same type of card and am running winxp sp2 just fine. Although I must add that it is a lite version I have installed. I used nlite and got rid of a bunch of extra winxp junk. I would also recommend reverting back to SP1 if all else fails. I wonder if this is a bios problem on the video card?

[ankit_y]

thanks for the response guys....the poblem is there with all games...and i got directx 9.0b...but what i can't understand is how the system goes to hell all the time...but i'll try installing sp1 and get back to you...

[lemonlime]

Hi ankit_y,

I'd recommend trying a chkdsk /r to look for any filesystem problems. It is possible that once the machine has the OS installed, the game writes over a troubled part of your hard drive.

If you have another video card you could borrow from a friend, I would give that a try as well. That way you could rule out the card.

Also, try to remove any add-in cards, like your soundblaster. I'd be curious to see if that changes the behavior. Be sure to uninstall any associated drivers and see if it helps.

[FatFunkey]

can i ask what games and what setting you are running and is your 9800 either a PRO XT SE or just a plain ol 9800 , the reason im asking if your lets say running oblvion on max or something on even an 9800 XT theres no way in hell that will ever happen

[ankit_y]

I tried another vid card....i had an old 9200se lyin around...that works perfectly...i have tried loads of stuff and have shortlisted two probable causes and any help on it would be appreciated...
firstly...my bios doesn't list system voltages but using speedfan this is what i got...
vcore1 1.31v
vcore2 2.67v
+3.3v 2.67v
+5v 4.92v
+12v 10.50v (fluctuates heavily once dropped to 4.46v)
-12v -0.27v
-5v -0.33v

these seem a bit low to me and could be that my psu cannot support the card because as long as the cabinet fan is plugged in,the card keeps displaying an error message at the bios screen that the power cable for the card is disconnected.

secondly...the system is very jumpy with the 9800 installed and slows to a crawl...could be an overheat issue too...since the cabinet fan is switched off...

any suggestions or ideas?...thanks...
p.s.the problem persists with all games...cs,lotr,psi-ops....all of em

[lemonlime]

Hi ankit_y,

Your powersupply is definietly defective or underpowered for your system. 10.5V on the +12V rail is well below the 5% ATX specification, as is your 3.3V rail. Your 5V rail is about the only one in spec. A PSU behaving like that is on the brink of failure, and could very well damage your hardware. I'd replace it ASAP.

I'd highly recommend replacing that PSU with a brand name model from OCZ, Mushkin, Corsair, Silverstone, Antec, Enermax etc. Something like the Antec Truepower 430 would do well based on your system specs.

Best of luck!

[Thrax]

You run that PSU much longer, and all your equipment will be fried.

[ankit_y]

Hey guys....thanks for all the help...got a new psu...and lo and behold all's well...until i run into a problem again...installed nfs most wanted...got playing...everything looks good...then as soon as i start playing...game locks up...monitor goes blank n stuck in a sound loop...have to do a hard reset to turn it back...haven't got this problem playing hitman blood money...could this be a heat issue?...if so i think ati should start thinking about supplying ample cooling fans with the cards....very frustrating!